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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · tube · object · staff · wind · kid · lash · chair

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. staff — employees
  3. object — to protest
  4. tube — a container
  5. object — a thing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. band — a music group
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. band — a ring
  15. staff — employees
  16. object — an aim
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kid — child
  24. staff — a stick

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com